by Jamie Dillon
No longer hanging my head in shame. Liam and I hopped in the van just after sunset and set up with the binocs in our old dark spot in the fields just west of town. What a sexy comet! Bright, concentrated nucleus and a tail showing as 3 degrees long in the 10x50's. As we got home, I peeked over the back fence and there it was, so Jo got a look as well.
Felix was already set up out back, so Liam and I took a tour of highlights. The sky went to about 3.0 transparency shortly thereafter, but not before I had a spectacular backyard view of M42, with 6 stars in the Trapezium to direct vision and curdling for days.
Life has much more zest and meaning now.
(parenthetically, here's another good word for Phil Chambers' methanol. Out back, had gotten some juniper pitch on the right eyepiece of my nice newish Orion 10x50's. Isopropyl wouldn't cut it but the methanol sure did. Here's to helpful pals.)